Filmmakers' politics not taken into account with film festival picks

September 27, 2007

Q.I would like to know how the films for the South Dakota Film Festival were chosen, particularly Sean Penn's film "Into the Wild." Why would we want to support somebody who is friends with Hugo Chavez? A.Tom Black, one of the co-producers of the film festival, said a jury of producers selected the 37 films shown at last weekend's festival. Many of the films had South Dakota ties, although that was not a requirement for being shown. As for "Into the Wild," Black said the politics of the people who made the films were not taken into consideration. "It was a miraculous opportunity for an inaugural festival to have a blockbuster feature film with the notoriety that 'Into the Wild' has, and it's ridiculous that somebody would ask a question about Hugo Chavez and Sean Penn in relation to the South Dakota Film Festival." Chavez, the president of Venezuela, has praised Penn for his stance against the war in Iraq. The two men have talked by phone, according to media reports. Chavez, a socialist dictator, is a critic of the war and the United States. When you have a question for News Line, give us a call at (605) 226-1600, ext. 403. Or e-mail us at americannews@aberdeennews .com. All questions must include a name and telephone number. We'll research answers and print them, or if the topic merits a full story, we'll look into that. News Line answers appear Tuesday through Saturday in the American News. If you would like to view previous News Line answers, visit the Web site www.aberdeennews.com. Click on "News" and then "News Line."